As the legendary Lester Bangs in Almost Famous, Philip Seymour Hoffman says, “The only true currency in this bankrupt world is what we share with someone else when we’re uncool.” This quote/credo/saying has become something of a mantra in the past 14 years, and I can think of no simpler and more effective way to summarize what it was that made Mr. Hoffman so special. Here is an actor that epitomized the truth (“true currency”) in a world so often lacking in it. His versatility, range, and unflinching ability to dig deep into the myriad conditions of the human soul inspired myself since I first discovered his work in 1999’s Magnolia. This legendary actor never gave a bad performance, never faked it, never cashed it in. Even in Along Came Polly, in which he plays a chubby sidekick character typically reserved for the likes of Jack Black, he kills and proves equally as adept at slapstick comedy. That kind of says it all, doesn’t it? In everything he attempted, Mr. Hoffman gave it his all. It is a horrible loss that the film community has suffered; a genuine artist is no longer with us. Yet he will live on through the countless incredible performances he has given over the years (Capote, The Master, Synecdoche, New York, etc.) and he will never be forgotten. –Maxwell Haddad
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